Population Reference Bureau

Inform. Empower. Advance.

Education Influences Distance Moved in the U.S.

(October 2000) People who move long distances tend to be better educated than those who stay put or move locally. College graduates are more than twice as likely to move to a different state than people who lack a high school diploma. Long distance moves are typically job related; college graduates often have access to networks that provide more information about other parts of the country, and they are more likely to have skills that are valued in the national job market.

High school dropouts are more likely to make local moves than groups with more education. Fewer dropouts own homes, a factor that may contribute to higher local mobility rates among this group.